The Destiny Series by -Angel- Author's Note: This story is based on the DiC characters alone. Since I've only seen the NA series, I can only use these characters. Episode One "An Abandoned Destiny" "Darien! Darien!" Serena ran after Darien, screaming the entire way. Darien turned around and saw the little teenager tearing after him. He grinned as she giggled when he stopped. Then, an unforeseen pebble got in her way and she tripped. "Aaaah!" she said as she began to lose her balance. Darien sprung to her side and caught her. "Hey, meatball-head, you okay?" he said with warmth in his voice. He helped Serena to her balance. Serena smiled and nodded. She wanted to stay in his arms forever, but if she did she would forget what she had to tell him. She pulled her self out of his arms. "Lita and Raye have invited us to see the new Sailor-V movie, if you want to go. They have tickets?" Serena's voice trailed off as Darien's gaze focuses on something other than her. Serena turned and saw Raye crossing the street. She waved to her. Raye smiled and saw Darien. Her smile brightened and she hurried her pace. "Hi Serena, Darien." "Hey Raye." Darien said, his gaze lingering on her for more than a second before turning back to Serena. "Now, what were you saying, my sweet?" he said. "I can't remember," Serena said, wondering what was happening between Raye and Darien. She glanced at Raye. Raye looked awfully uncomfortable. "That's okay." Darien kissed her cheek lightly. "Look I have to go, I've got some things to do. Want to get an ice cream soda later?" Darien didn't wait for a reply and jogged off. "Well, I better go, too, Serena. Um, see ya later." Raye said and walked off in the other direction, leaving Serena in a daze. "What was that all about?" she asked to herself/ "Aaahh, Tanya, I hear you've been causing trouble among the Sailor Scouts?" Scott looked up and smiled slyly at his girlfriend. Tanya couldn't keep a straight face. She laughed, and sat next to him. "Well, after what Zoisite reported to me about Jedite and Nephlyte, and then her tragic death?I figured these Sailor brats needed a dose of their own medicine." Tanya's smiled slowly disappeared. "You miss Zoisite, don't you?" Scott said quietly, putting his arm around her. "It's kind of hard NOT to miss your own sister. And losing so many good friends to these Sailor Scouts," Tanya paused, thinking of Queen Beryl, Malachite, and Jedite. "It's amazing I haven't given them any more than a little trouble." she said, tears misting her eyes. Scott held Tanya closer. "We better not try to do anything to them yet. We better wait until we can find their weakness." Tanya nodded and stared off into the distance. They had been good friends with the people supporting the Negaverse. Although they had never formally joined the fight, they always had wanted to be involved with the Negaverse took over. Now, Tanya was adamant about destroying the Sailor Scouts before she and Scott were married and given a solar system by the Imperium of Darkness. "So, what trouble have you given the scouts?" Scott said changing the subject. Tanya smiled. "Something nobody's ever thought to do. A love spell." Scott flinched in surprise. "Love spell? What good will that accomplish?" Tanya looked at her love with a knowing glance. "If you had been paying attention my dear, you would know that Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask are romantically involved. You would also know that Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Mars have had a romantic past. Now of course you know Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars aren't the best of friends?" Scott started chuckling. "It's amazing how smart you are. By casting a love spell on those two, Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars will become rivals, Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon will break up, and the Sailor Scouts will split! Then they'll be divided and conquered!" "Exactly!" Tanya said and laughed. Scott smiled. Then he and Tanya would finally marry. He had known from the day he met Tanya, he wanted to marry her. He wanted to spend his life with her. He wanted to have children and rule a solar system with her. Finally, his dream was coming closer. Tanya turned to Scott. "Those scouts had better be ready for anything!" "So what you're saying is you're developing FEELINGS for him?!" Mina asked incredulously. Raye blushed and nodded. Mina was the only person Raye felt she could talk to on this subject. She knew Mina would keep her feelings private. "Uh-oh. That's definitely not good." Mina shook her head. "This could do serious damage if it gets out of hand. When did you start feeling this way?" "I don't know. It just sorta happened." Raye said, staring at her hands. Mina groaned. Serena and Darien were meant to be together. Their past had proved it; their future had proved it. Now, finally when they were together happily, Raye had decided she still had feelings for him. Could it be any worse? "Raye, in any other case, I would tell you to talk to your friend about it. But this is Serena and Darien?they were destined to be together." Mina sighed. Raye felt herself growing angrier. She tensed. "Does everything have to always be destiny?! It's my destiny to be Sailor Mars, it's Serena's destiny to reign over us, it's our destiny to defend Serena! It's Darien and Serena's destiny to be together forever! When is it time to have fun? To ignore destiny? To live for the moment?" Mina calmed her friend down. "Shhh, Raye. We've all known what our destiny means. We can't avoid it. And Serena is destined to be our future queen. Our destinies are set, too. We just don't know them yet." "Well, I don't believe destiny is set in stone. I'm going to try, Mina. I have to." Raye said quietly, and left Mina. Mina thought for a second, then set out to find Artemis and Luna. "I honestly don't know. Artemis?" Luna said, confused. "There has been nothing said on the destinies of the scouts themselves, except that you guys continue to defend Crystal Tokyo. I've often wondered if Luna and I are destined to be cats our entire lives, but I've found my answers by looking in the past. We were cats in the past, we'll be cats in the future." Artemis glanced at Luna jokingly. "Depressing, isn't it?" Luna smiled. "Not at all. Although it is exasperating to explain HOW I can talk to every new Sailor Scout?" she said. Artemis turned back to Mina. "I'm sorry. There's nothing in my memory of the destinies of the Sailor Scouts. Why do you ask?" "Well, we feel left out. Everything has been planned for Serena. She knows who she's going to be with, what she's going to do, how her children are going to turn out?" Mina started to think. It wasn't fair that Serena knew her destiny and future and the other scouts didn't. "Mina, you were never one to let that get you down. After all, you are the first Sailor Scout, whether the others realize it or not. Don't let the future get you down." Luna said reassuringly. "I'm sure Serena would trade places with you in a moment." Mina sighed. "Maybe." At that moment, Serena didn't want to change places with anyone. She and Darien were taking a walk in the park. She felt so close to him as they talked. I hope this never ends, she thought. "So how are your parents handling us?" Darien said abruptly. Serena gritted her teeth. This was always a delicate issue with them. Her parents disapproved of Darien, mainly because he was so much older than her. Darien wanted Serena's parents to like him, but Serena always had a way of avoiding talking too much about him with her parents. "They're fine." Serena said, desperately wanting to change the subject. "Serena, you haven't told them that much about us, have you?" Darien stopped and looked down at her. "No?but Darien, how much do they really need to know? This doesn't concern them." Serena leaned into him. Darien gently pushed her back. "Serena, I know your parents think I'm way too old for you. Maybe it's true, but right now, we're working out. We know that we'll always be together." "Exactly. So why involve my parents anyway? We'll be together no matter what." Which is what I'm afraid of, Darien thought. "Fine, we don't have to talk about it." he resumed walking with Serena. "Darien," Serena began, "Does the age thing ever bother you?" she asked sincerely. Maybe that was why he was slowly drifting away. "Not really. At times, I think it would be better if you were older. But I love you, and we can make it work, no matter how young you are." Darien answered. But if it's not that age difference, then why am I finding myself less attracted to her? he asked himself. "I just wondered. I know I'm not as mature as you'd want me to be?" Serena said, still puzzled over why Darien had begun to distance himself from her. "It's fine, Serena. Don't worry about it." Darien said, then changed the subject. If it isn't the age difference, then what is it? Serena thought to herself. Raye stared out the window. She sighed unhappily. Why am I so lovestruck over Darien all of the sudden? she wondered. Serena and Darien belong together. They were made for each other. Weren't they? Raye walked over to her bed and laid down on it. What if Darien's feeling the same way? What if Serena isn't the one for him? What if destiny can be changed? Raye was in deep thought when she heard the door open. It was her grandfather. "Hello, Raye. Somebody called for you. It was a guy, said he call back." He said, looking curiously at her. "Is something wrong?" he sat on the edge of her bed. "Nothing a long, hot bath won't fix." Raye said decidedly. She walked towards the bathroom. Chad was out tending to the gardens. "Chad, I'm taking a bath, so don't go in the bathroom." she called out. Chad looked up, smiled and nodded. Raye went into the bathroom and began to turn on the hot water. Steam began to rise. "Aaahh?" she sighed as she took off her clothes and got ready to step into the bathtub. Suddenly, the bathroom door opened. Raye screeched and looked for a towel to cover herself up with. Of course, the only towel was on the other side of the room. "CHAD!" she yelled as she covered what she could with her hands. "Raye, I'm so sorry!" a low voice said, shocked. Raye turned. It was Darien! "DARIEN!" she screamed and ran for the towel. Darien quickly shut the door. What on earth is he doing here? Raye thought as she pulled on her clothes. She drained the tub. Her bath would have to wait. Darien took a deep breath and tried to get his red face to go back to his natural shade. How could he have been so stupid?! Why didn't he knock? He sat on the steps as Chad came running. "You didn't go in there, did you?! Raye's taking a bath!" Chad said. "Um, no. Raye said she'd be out in a moment." Darien said, trying not to blush. He couldn't bear it if Chad knew he had seen Raye without her clothes on. "Whew! When Grandpa told me you had asked about her, I figured he knew enough to say she was unavailable right then. Of course, he had to go and say she was in the bathroom?well, at least you had enough sense to knock." Chad said, walking back to the garden. "Yeah," Darien muttered sarcastically. What was he going to say? How could he ever face Raye again? Or Serena? Uh-oh! Darien hadn't thought about Serena. What if Raye told her what had happened? What if Serena thought he had PURPOSELY walked in? No, he thought shaking his head, Serena would tease him about it until he was thirty, but she would ever suspect he would do it on purpose. Would she? Darien heard the door open. He blushed as he turned around to see Raye. "Raye, I'm so sorry! I wasn't thinking?" he began, but he couldn't stop blushing. "Um, that's okay, I guess. I mean, it's not, but we can forget about it, if at all possible. I mean?" Raye stumbled over her words, looking at her feet. "Well, I hope you aren't mad at me. I mean, I didn't do it on purpose?" Darien said uncomfortably. Raye looked up, shocked. "Why would you do it on purpose? It was an accident. Of course I'm not mad, just embarrassed." Raye said. She shook her head and tried to act dignified. "C'mon Darien, we're both mature. We can handle it. I won't say a word to Serena." she said. Darien sighed with relief. "Yeah, let's just put it behind us." he said happily. Although, it'll be in my mind for a long time, he thought to himself. "Anyway, I came over to ask you if you wanted to join me and Serena tomorrow. We're going to the new Sailor V movie. Molly and Melvin were going to join us, too." "Sure, that'd be great!" Raye said enthusiastically. Wait a minute, why am I getting so excited? she asked herself. Darien and Serena are a couple. They're meant to be. It's destiny. "Well, that'd be great!" Darien said excitedly. Cut it out, he told himself. You're excited because you can spend some time with Serena, not with Raye. He smiled uncomfortably. Raye's smile looked a little tense as well. Man, why does he have to have such awesome blue eyes? It's like they're haunting me?and his wavy brown hair is so gorgeous! Why can't I get him out of my mind?! Raye was fighting an inward battle while she studied Darien's face. She's so beautiful. Her brown eyes are a mystery to me. What is she thinking? What's going on behind that beautiful face? Darien was as puzzled as Raye. He couldn't stop gazing at her eyes. "Maybe I won't go to the movie. I have a lot of?work to do." Raye finally said. "Oh, Raye, you should see it. Why don't you and Serena go? I just remembered I have to work." Darien answered. "No, you and Serena haven't been together in a long time. This'll be good for you. I'd just be in the way." Raye said as she looked down. "Please come," she heard a tender voice say. She glanced up at Darien's face. He looked so caring, so loving. He really cared about her. He wanted her company. He was so sweet. "Okay," she whispered. Her acceptance made him want to leap in the air. She was such a generous person, always thinking of other people before herself. She was the nicest person he had ever known. They stared at each other for a while, unable to ignore their intense attraction towards one another. Kiss her, a voice said. Darien obeyed it. He leaned down and lightly brushed her lips with his. Raye was seized by the moment. She leaned up and the kiss deepened. Who cared about destiny or the future? This was now, and she was going to live by the moment and not worry about the consequences. The single kiss was so pure and loving it made them both want to cry. They had rejected destiny and decided to live their own lives for once. Even if it only lasted a few seconds, they knew it would not be easily forgotten. Serena happily skipped down the walk. She had wanted to see the new Sailor V movie ever since it came out three weeks ago. She was going to Raye's to borrow some of her comics. I hope Raye is in a good mood, I really want to see those comics! Serena thought. Serena turned the corner and her smile vanished. There was Raye and Darien, locked in a passionate kiss. She gasped, unable to believe her eyes. It's all a dream, she said to herself. All a terrible dream. The two parted and stepped away. Darien turned to look at the gardens and saw Serena. His face paled. Raye saw Darien's face and turned to see what had made Darien so scared. Raye had fought millions of monsters from the Negaverse, but she had never been more frightened. There was Serena. "Oh no!" she gasped. Darien quickly left Raye and ran to her. Serena's eyes filled with tears. It couldn't be true. She and Darien were meant to be together. That couldn't change?could it? Darien ran to Serena's side. "No." she said and backed away. "Serena, calm down." Darien said, unable to get that horrid look in her eyes out of his mind. "It's not what you think." he said. "It's not true," she whispered, trying to convince herself. "How could you?" Her voice shook as she asked him the question. Tears trickled down her face. Darien tried to touch her, but she backed away. "Don't." she commanded. "Serena?" Darien said, but Serena turned around and ran away. He could hear her sobbing as she ran towards her house. Oh, what had made him do this?! Darien turned towards Raye. She looked so lonely and sad. He knew the answer to his question. Passion had made him do it. But where had it come from?